Case Number 22310: Small Claims Court

RICHARD JENI: THE BEACH CROWD

The Charge

"When I used to smoke dope, it wasn't really good. Now it's like one hit
and you're in the hospital."

The Case

A staple of The Tonight Show, Richard Jeni is considered by many to be
one of the greatest comedians to come out of the '90s. His slightly energized
routine and his pointed criticisms of American culture and society were a
perfect blend. Jeni was acerbic and observant but not to such a strong degree as
George Carlin (Dogma) later in his career where Carlin could easily
alienate his audience with his acidity. Jeni was amiable and upbeat at the same
time as he was critical and that's what makes him so fun to watch. Sadly in
early 2007, after a long struggle with depression, Jeni committed suicide. It's
always a tragic thing for anyone to take their own life, especially someone so
seemingly upbeat. A history of schizophrenia, compounded with the massive
success of irrelevant comedians like Dane Cook (Employee of the Month)
and Larry the Cable Guy (Cars), can't be an easy thing to overcome. I
hope more than anything though that Richard Jeni: The Beach Crowd is not
the last footnote in such a storied career. This DVD is unworthy of being his
last tribute.

Richard Jeni: The Beach Crowd compiles footage from two separate
weekend performances four years apart that has never been seen before. These
performances are collected from Jeni's own personal archive and are said to have
been used as reference material by the late comedian in order to hone his act
and his delivery. From the dichotomy between men and women stuck in committed
relationships, to the merits of porn and recreational drug use, Jeni provides us
with a scattershot glimpse into his frenzied mind. Nothing seems to be safe from
Jeni's gaze.

It should be said that the issue with this DVD does not stem from the
performances. This is some great material and the comedian seems to be genuinely
excited to be on stage performing it. He throws so much stuff out there in such
a wide and energized manner that it doesn't matter if some doesn't stick. He
gets the crowd going early on by calling them out on being stoned, and he
doesn't let up from there. From throwing barbs at Joaquin Phoenix and his
performance in Gladiator to how a luxury cruise is just one big expensive
adult summer camp, this is some inspired and truly hilarious stuff even if it
may not reach the excellence of his early Showtime specials like Richard
Jeni: Boy From New York or Richard Jeni: Crazy From The Heat. This is
never before seen archive footage after all; most of his more well-known
material has already seen the light of day.

Where the problem lies is in how these performances are edited together. Not
only were they filmed four years apart, each performance constitutes a weekend
of shows at the Comedy and Magic Club. It's effectively six separate shows, or
at least I think it is because it's so hard to tell how many damn performances
this DVD is being assembled from. What you end up with is multiple performances
edited, in what appears to be a bargain bin film editing program, to try and
produce a seamless show. It's the same thing they did with Chris Rock: Kill
The Messenger but even worse. Jeni will be in the middle of a joke and then
it cuts to him behind a different curtain, in a different outfit. Sometimes he's
not even telling the same joke when it cuts! It makes it incredibly hard to
follow at times, especially considering Jeni's already rapid-fire and unfocused
style of comedy. And I just don't understand the reasoning for wanting to do it
this way. Just show us one night of his act from that first weekend in 2002 and
then bookend it with one night from 2006, play it from the start and slap it
there on the DVD. Then call it a visual example of Jeni's maturation as a
comedian.

Even worse, the camera is some low quality piece of crap that's been shoved
to the back of the venue. This is one of the worst looking DVDs I've seen in
recent memory and its case doesn't help matters. When I first saw it I thought
it was one of those free DVDs that religious summer camps send you in the mail.
It's tacky, it's beyond amateur and it smells like lubricant. It's almost
insulting to experience how low quality this entire release is. I don't know
what I should have expected; the case itself labels this as "raw
footage." It's just such a shame that almost no care went into this
release.

The 1.33:1 video transfer on the DVD is washed out and saturated to an
extreme degree. Some of the dialogue is hard to hear or swallowed up by the
audience and there are absolutely no special features besides a trailer telling
you where to buy some of Jeni's other performances on DVD. No retrospective on
the comedian's life or career, no interviews with people close to him or his
contemporaries. There's nothing at all to encapsulate Jeni's career and legacy.
It's such a shame and such a missed opportunity.

As it stands, this DVD has a wealth of great material by the late great
Richard Jeni but nothing about this disc should be considered a worthy tribute
to the man and his amazing stand-up capabilities.

The Verdict

The performance is not guilty. The way it's been cobbled together and shoved
on this disc is a different story though.